Sweet As Honey
by CrazyNutSquirrel
Summary: Shadow is assigned to rescue and protect Honey the cat.... what will happen? Rated T for safety. Shadoney.
1. Chapter 1: Guard boy

Shadow looked at the Commander with a frown, feeling slightly insulted. "You want me to rescue, then guard, this.... Honey the Cat? She's a mechanic, what is her importance?" The Commander glared at him.

"Agent Shadow, this information is not required, you will find out later. Possibly." Shadow nodded curtly.

"Fine."

"Alright then, off you go. She's in one of Eggman's bases." Shadow gave the Commander one of his coldest looks.

"I am not a dumb robot Commander." And with that, he walked out.

***

Rouge grinned at him., "Cold words with the G.C. eh? Good for you." Shadow huffed and continued striding down the hallway. Rouge soared silently beside him. "So... who have you been assigned to? I'm supposed to spy on this dude called Fang the Weasel... or Nack." Shadow glanced at her, then replied.

"I have been assigned to Honey the Cat as a rescuer, then temporary protecter." Rouge winced sympathetically.

"I've heard she's only a mechanic.... and I don't really know whether or not she has any real talents." Shadow was now interested.

"Oh? I'd have expected _you_ at least to know." The white bat chuckled.

"Thanks for the flattery, but she hasn't really turned up as an important figure before now." Shadow nodded. Some soldiers paused and saluted, he was superior in rank to them after all. He just nodded curtly, whereas Rouge decided it was necessary to flutter her eyelashes and wave at them. Then blow kisses. The two soldiers promptly fainted. Shadow gave her an incredulous look. "What?"

"Was that really necessary?"

"No, but you have to admit it was amusing." Shadow just shook his head with a small smile.

***

Shadow was bored as he blew up robots. "Same thing every day... blow up robots, rescue some girl for GUN... and of course... it's boring." The last robot blew up. Shadow dusted some metal off himself. "Yup, definitely boring." He could hear Eggman's crazed laughter, so he sped up a little. As soon as he burst through the door, Eggman cut off the laugh.

"Oh you're finally here Shadow."

"That laugh was completely fake."

"Yes it was." Said Eggman conversationally. Shadow sighed.

"You know I'm here to kick your butt right?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Eggman smiled, as if he'd been waiting years to tell Shadow what he was going to.

"I am going to have my robots blow you to bits, then I am going to incinerate you, then I am going to watch you regenerate and do it again." Shadow shook his head at this decleration.

"Alright, try it." Eggman sent in his robots, who were tossing bombs at him. Shadow disappeared. In three seconds, he'd destroyed them. After twenty minutes of destroying robots, he advanced towards Eggman, the mad doctor darted into an escape capsule. Shadow quickly opened the lock on the cage that the cat he assumed was Honey was in. "Get out of here to somewhere safe, and wait." Then he took of after the mad scientist. Running along thin walkways suspended high above lava was not something everyone would have done, he knew that some would have preferred to let the evil scientist go, rather than do that. But he had to try to get Eggman... he had to. Times like these were ones he just couldn't explain. He saw Eggman's escape capsule up ahead, suddenly hands pushed down on his shoulders, and the cat leapfrogged over him! She ran down the walkway, then delivered a downward kick to the capsule, sending it into the acid basins... but what really made Shadow pause was what she yelled.

"THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" As the escape pod hit the acid, a smaller escape pod within it shot out, with Eggman in it.

"I WILL HAVE REVENGE!"

"YOU CAN'T RUN FROM SPARTA!" Yelled Honey. Shadow stared at her. She looked at him. "Oh, sorry, too many movies you see." He shook his head.

"Where too now then?" She looked slightly incredulous.

"What do you mean what now then? I go home and you go off to whatever you're supposed to be doing... right?" Shadow shook his head, wishing he could.

"No, I'm supposed to act as a bodyguard to you for awhile." She looked confused.

"Why would I need a bodyguard?"

"I honestly don't know. Let's go then."

***

Shadow looked at Honey's house, it was small, but comfortable looking. What really caught his attention though, was the huge garage beside it, heck, it was taller than her house! He glanced at her, she caught the look. "Like it?" He made no reply. She rolled her eyes. "You know, if you're supposed to guard me I'd like to get to know a little more about you."

"My job is to guard you, I am not here for social interaction." Honey blew out a sigh of frustration. She was very pretty, she had black hair which fell around her face, not going too far past her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep navy blue. She had long white wings on her back, her fur was yellow except for the black tuft on her tail, and the white parts on her ears which had once looked like her star hat, which she'd worn behind them, but now had discarded. She wore black and red goggles with clear ice blue lenses, black sleeves with red straps near her shoulders to keep them on, a sleeveless tank top shirt which exposed her stomach, white gloves with red squares on the back, a red skirt with a black ring around the top, and a long bit of black cloth extending down to around her knees. Then she wore baggy leggings with a triangle of red at the top, then white bellow it with a black stripe which spread out slightly at the bottom, Her shoes were red, with two yellow squares at the heel, grey soles, and black stripes on the toe, the top of the toe, and a stripe which seemed to connect to the one on her leggings, it spread out to touch the stripe on the top of the toe of the shoe, and was shaped like an arrow.

"Alright guard boy, well if you want anything, let me know." Shadow's eye twitched at the "guard boy" nickname, but he didn't say anything. He just followed her inside, then stationed himself by the door. She looked at him then went to the kitchen. "Hey guard boy, you look either emo or gothic... I can't seem to place the style... which one would you be?" Shadow growled slightly.

"I would be neither."

"Well goody for you. Does my outfit look emo... or gothic?" Shadow glanced at her outfit, then shrugged.

"I would not know, seeing as I do not really look at such styles, but I think it does not." Honey smiled.

"Well that's nice. Seeing as it's almost night time now, you can sit on the porch if you want, there's a nice view of the sun setting." Shadow shrugged again and went outside. Honey started making dinner.

The sunset did look very beautiful. Honey's house was set in the middle of a forest at the end of a long, trailing road with two paths beside it. Pine trees surrounded it, and gave a lovely, fresh, smell to the area. Crows cawed, but it all seemed to form a harmony with the natural sounds. A river was nearby, and frogs too, dragonflies flitted through the shadows, and distantly, a wolf howled. It was all very strange... very... old, in the feel. The air seemed fresher, but that was probably because no gas was polluting it. Shadow watched the sun descend through the sky, and finally slip bellow the treetops, and the sky darken in it's wake, as the smell's of Honey's cooking started to weave their way into the evening smells of the forest. It had rained recently, because the air had the extra smell of greenery on it, and the paths and road were slightly muddy. "Hey, guard boy?" Called Honey, Shadow didn't even turn.

"What?"

"Well I was going to ask you if you wanted some stew, but now I'm not so sure, seeing as you're being so rude."

"What makes you think I need food?" He asked, before turning back to watching and listening for anything unusual. Honey snorted and went inside... then came back outside. "What do you want n..." She dumped the contents of a bowl over his head.

"Seeing as you didn't want stew, I figured you didn't want it in a bowl. Well it's not in a bowl now, it's in your fur, so you can lick it off yourself while I go eat my dinner out of a bowl, the way _civilized_ people eat their food." And with that, the yellow cat went indoors, leaving a surprised Shadow to go to the river and clean himself, and get the beef chunks and carrot chunks off himself. He licked some of the mess off his arm before cleaning it, and was surprised that it actually tasted good. When he came back from washing himself, he found another bowl of stew, sending up a faint trail of steam into the air, sitting on the porch.

***

Shadow was walking around Honey's house, owls were hooting as his thoughts whirled around in a jumbled heap. Why had she dumped a bowl of stew over his head.... only to set out another one for him? He looked up at the sky, so full of stars, and decided that women were just weird that way. He chuckled as he thought of what Rouge would say to that. "So you actually laugh do you?" His head shot up sharply. Honey giggled. She was leaning out of her window, her nightgown was red, and more like a robe, there was a cloth belt tied around her waist, holding it closer. Shadow raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "What were you laughing about?"

"It's none of your business." Honey sighed.

"You're not a man of many words are you?"

"No." Honey stared at him a moment longer, then tossed something at him, out of reflex, he caught it.

"Nice job with catching 'em. Anyway, those are the spare keys I have for the house and garage. If you're hungry just let yourself in, or if you want to store a car or motorcycle in the garage for as long as you stay here that's fine by me. Goodnight." And with that, she closed the window. Shadow decided then that women were even _weirder_ than he'd first thought.

Honey yawned and stretched, then recoiled in shock as she was met with Shadow's red eyes... seemingly an angry shade of red, according to her. "Wh... what do you want?" She asked, trying to appear composed. Shadow just looked at her strangely, then shrugged.

"Someone is on the phone for you." Honey was surprised that Shadow would have answered the phone for her.

"Thank you." She headed downstairs. "Hello?"

"Honey! Who was that guy on the phone? He sounded hot." Honey grinned.

"Hey Amy! That was Shadow, he's been assigned to guard me by someone, I think." Amy's voice conveyed dismissal.

"Oh, that must have been GUN. They've been sending him on weird missions lately, but only to rescue girls, I don't fully understand it. Anyhow, Mina, Rouge, Blaze and I were going to go shopping today! We wondered if you wanted to join us? There's a shop with cool gadgets in it that Rouge wants to check out." Honey looked thoughtful, then shrugged.

"Alright, what time? I'll be there whenever."

"How about in thirty minutes?" After Amy had given Honey directions, the yellow cat raced upstairs and into her bedroom. Throwing the window open for fresh air, and drawing the curtains shut. Then she turned and was about to get changed for a shower when she noticed Shadow leaning in the doorway.

"What do you want now?" She asked, frowning slightly. Shadow shrugged.

"Do you want breakfast?" She blinked. Feeling slightly silly.

"Um.... no I'll buy it for us on the way. You should go get ready or something..."

"Where are we going?" He asked, frowning.

"To the mall, Amy invited me." Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Only Amy is going to be there?"

"No, Rouge, Blaze and Mina are going to be there too. Why, is that a problem? They aren't assassins you know." Honey put her hands on her hips, and pursed her lips, making them thin lines of disapproval. Shadow smirked.

"No it isn't, especially seeing as Rouge is a friend of mine, and I've been assigned to protect Mina at a point." Honey blinked then raised an eyebrow.

"Really. Well go busy yourself somewhere else while I get ready." Shadow shrugged and left the room while she got ready. She didn't like washing her hair in a shower, or in a bath, so she had a shower first, then washed her hair over the side of the bathtub, in the way she liked. Toweling her hair dry, she looked at herself in the mirror. "Am I pretty?" She asked herself out loud, looking at herself. She'd never really cared about beauty at the level Mina or Rouge did, but she did have some vanity, liking to look relatively pretty... in a tomboyish way.

"In certain terms: very." She shrieked in surprise as Shadow appeared.

"Do you mind?! Get out!" Shadow smirked and disappeared.

"You have been thirty minutes on your shower and hair alone." She paled.

"Oh god........ I have to hurry!"

"I could help you out."

"Oh yeah? How?" She asked, glaring at him. Shadow smirked.

"I could slow down time."

"Then do it already." Saying so, she turned and rushed around getting ready.

***

Amy glanced at her watch, slightly irritated. "Honey should have been here already!" She said, pouting in a particularly girly way.

"I am." Amy jumped and turned, Honey was walking towards her with Shadow trailing behind. Amy grinned.

"Hey Honey!" Honey was hugged by Amy, Rouge and Mina, Blaze formally shook her hand. To Shadow's horror, Amy hugged him too, one of her god damn awful bone crushing hugs... he hated those...... he liked her gentler ones.... but then again, anyone would like the gentler ones if they were in the bone crushing ones. And when it came down to it, Shadow didn't like getting hugged at all....... he'd only enjoyed hugs from Maria, or Professor Gerald, they had felt like family to him.... no one else had, and he only felt okay with people who felt like family, others...... no. Just no.

"Nice to see you too." Said Rouge, amused, as she looked at Shadow.

"So you really know him then?" Asked Honey.

"Why? He told you otherwise?"

"No, it's just I didn't completely believe him..."

"And how have you found him?" As Honey talked of meeting Shadow, and her interactions with Shadow since then, Shadow had a frown on, and he was feeling slightly sour. Did the cat need to humiliate him by telling Rouge about the stew incident? Apparently she did. Rouge and the other girls laughed, except Blaze, who only glanced at Shadow, as if trying to imagine him with stew dripping from his head. "Oh Honey look at this!" They dragged the two female cats in the group to a window with wedding dresses in it. Shadow just hung around the fringes of their group, looking bored. "Hmm... I wonder what I'll wear when I finally get Knuckles to marry me...?" Asked Rouge. She wouldn't have said this in front of anyone else, but she knew that these girls (and guy) wouldn't tell... first of all, the girls loved planning surprises to spring on the guys, or their boyfriends, Honey didn't really care, and Shadow didn't talk much to any of Sonic's friends.

"Rouge, would you explain to me why you want to make Knuckles marry you?"

"Well first of all Shaddie, I have to get Knuckles to go out with me..... I know he likes me, I can see it every time we meet. Also, once we're going out, I just have to wait for him to propose." Shadow stared at her.

"Rouge..... are you quite sure that'll work? Knuckles isn't that bright sometimes."

"True, but if he sees someone else do it........ it might work." Rouge grinned at him.

"And who would he see proposing?"

"You." Shadow frowned.

"Rouge, I'm not in love with anyone."

"True, but you'll fall in love with someone soon... I can tell. Besides, you've got plenty of pretty fangirls. Mostly emos or goths sure but pretty nonetheless." Shadow glared.

"I am not emo.... or gothic. And I don't care how pretty they are."

"Unless they're your Maria." Shadow growled and stormed off, far enough so he wouldn't be able to hear what they said, but keep them in sight.

"Who's Maria?" Asked Honey as they went into Winners. Rouge explained while Amy and Mina browsed through the dresses, and Blaze browsed through the leather jackets. Shadow was lurking around the leather jackets too.... but the mens leather jackets, while he watched the girls. Honey looked slightly regretful. "I can't believe I was mean to him... if only I'd known this sooner, I would have been nicer." Rouge shrugged.

"Shadow doesn't like pity, in fact, he hates it. Or even being reminded he was helpless to save Maria."

"It was not my choice to leave her behind." Hissed Shadow, who was behind Rouge. The bat rolled her eyes.

"We know that Shadow, but we also know that whether you wanted to leave her behind or not, you were helpless." Shadow glared at the pretty bat with fire in his eyes.

"You've never lost anyone Rouge, if you had, you wouldn't be talking like you are, about such a matter."

"No... I'm pretty sure I'd be talking about it in a much more carefree manner." Shadow stalked off, while Honey looked concerned.

"Rouge... are you sure that was wise? It's not nice to add insult to injury... and if I understand you correctly, it's a pretty old injury that still bleeds." Rouge looked at Honey.

"You're feeling sorry for him? When he was rude to you? I thought you just felt sympathetic about his situation..." Honey sighed, Rouge would never get it. That was simply the way things were.

Shadow was moody through the rest of the trip, even Rouge apologizing did nothing to fix it. Shadow drove Honey and himself back to her house in silence. He'd found out where they were going and parked his motorcycle nearby, before going to pick take Honey. She had her arms wrapped around his waist as they drove, in silence. "Shadow?" She asked. No response. "Guard boy!" That worked.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry about what happened back there."

"Don't be." He sounded resigned.

"Why not?"

"Rouge always has that argument with me whenever she explains about my past to someone... she has an annoying habit of doing it when I'm in the room." Honey tightened her arms into a hug, not giving too much pressure, then she whispered in his ear.

"I'm still sorry about it... Shadow." They were quiet for the rest of the day. There was no repeat of the stew event from the previous night. They had burgers instead.

**Okay..... thanks to Solar Tonatiuh for actually making me interested enough in Honey to go and check out her character, and thanks to Sar the Hedgehog for reading most of it before I uploaded it! ^_^ Now I have two best friends on here.... Sar, and ShadowRuler55. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2: Rescue and boy problems

Rouge woke up slowly, when she finally opened her eyes, she noticed she was tied to a chair in a room with a simple light bulb. "Either this is some villain who likes using the hackneyed prisoner settings, or they're pretty cheap."

"Neither option sweetie, it was what was available for us to use, we don't really want to waste our money on hideouts." Rouge stiffened, Nack. Now she remembered, she'd been trailing him and had just found out about Nack's helping Doctor Eggman out with his latest scheme, when one of Nack's minions landed on her back and sent her crashing into the floor, knocking her out. She gritted her teeth as she heard Nack chuckle. "So you remember where you are now, that's nice. Anything you want to tell us?" She kept her mouth shut. Nack sighed. "I guess I'll have to sell you... what you know will hurt you, remember that, doll." Rouge kept her face blank.

***

Shadow watched Honey putting on a green version of the outfit he'd seen her wear the first day he met her. "So... you're a part-time spy?" He asked, not fully believing it. She pulled on her glove with some force, then let it go, so the cuff of the glove slapped against her hand, her hair swung back from her face then back into place.

"Yes. Keep it in mind guard boy, you'll be Toby, I'll be Amber." Shadow frowned. Toby. Why did he have to have the ridiculous name? "Understand guard boy?" He nodded, frowning. "Good. Come on... you'll have to be a spy boy now." And out the door she went, with Shadow trailing behind her.

***

She looked around the casino approvingly. "Good, there's a disco floor, guard boy, I want you to sing a song... maybe a Michael Jackson one. How about _Beat It_?" Shadow sighed. "Are you any good at imitating singers?" Shadow frowned.

"Yes, according to Rouge, but I don't want to sing."

"Well I do, and I need you to. In fact, I'm begging you on bended knee." Shadow did not comment on the fact that she was still standing. He sighed again and walked towards the stage where bands would perform..... when they were there. Amber (a.k.a. Honey) pulled a miniature yogurt container out of her pocket and started eating it, looking undeniably cute, her ears were flattened against the side of her head, and she had on the widest, most innocent eyes possible. They temporarily registered surprise as Shadow started singing. He was good, she made a mental note to NEVER tell him.

_They told him don't you ever come around here_

_Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear_

_The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear_

_So beat it, just beat it_

_You better run, you better do what you can_

_Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man_

_You wanna be tough, better do what you can_

_So beat it, but you wanna be bad_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it, beat it_

_Just beat it, beat it_

_Just beat it, beat it_

_Just beat it, beat it_

_They're out to get you, better leave while you can_

_Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man_

_You wanna stay alive, better do what you can_

_So beat it, just beat it_

_You have to show them that you're really not scared_

_You're playin' with your life, this ain't no truth or dare_

_They'll kick you, then they beat you_

_Then they'll tell you it's fair_

_So beat it, but you wanna be bad_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated _

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it_

_Beat it_

_Beat it _

_Beat it _

_Beat it_

_Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it, beat it_

_Beat it, beat it, beat it_

_Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

_No one wants to be defeated_

_Just beat it, beat it_

_Beat it, beat it, beat it_

Honey even noticed (with a small amount of satisfaction), that most of the people in the casino were singing along. Including her target, Nack, who had a pistol to the side of Rouge's head. Various other shifty looking characters came and looked Rouge over and talked with Nack for awhile, then moved on. Honey managed to work her way over to the weasel while Shadow had moved on to singing _Billie Jean_ by Michael Jackson. Nack noticed her in due time, she was staring dreamily off into space, but looking very hot. "Hey, what's your name toots?" She seemed to start, then notice her surroundings. She turned to Nack with a smile.

"I'm Amber." Shadow finished and came over, hovering around behind her.

"Who's your bodyguard?" Asked Nack, eyeing Shadow apprehensively. Amber smirked.

"He's Toby, or guard boy, as I like calling him."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Asked Nack.

"Boyfriend? Ha! As if he'd ever manage to get far enough into my good books for that!" Scoffed Honey, then she smiled at Nack. "Wanna talk in private?" Shadow looked at Rouge, as if examining her figure, in truth, he was checking to see if she was hurt. He couldn't see anything so he was satisfied she was fine. Rouge gave no indication she had noticed this, or that she even knew either of them. Nack gave a wide grin.

"For you? Sure. Bring your guard boy along, he can have some quality time with Rouges here." He shoved Rouge ahead of him into one of the back rooms, then into a side room. He bowed mockingly and waited until Shadow was in, then closed the door.

"Shadow?" Shadow nodded in the dim light, Rouge threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "I was so scared after he caught me... he was going to sell me as some..."

"I know." Said Shadow, interrupting her. She calmed down, but kept herself latched onto him, until he gently pushed her off. "We have to get out of here now, Honey is finding out about Nack's plans, then we're going to get out of here." As if waiting for a cue, the door opened. Honey smiled, she had the belt of an unconscious Nack in one hand.

"Hey there Rouge, sorry about not acknowledging you, anyhow, there's a staircase to the roof, either that, or Shadow can chaos control us to the nearest police station." She held up a pistol. "And now I have a weapon too, I confiscated it from Nack you see... and I have a matching one as well." She pointed to a second one hanging at her waist in one of the holsters she'd also taken off Nack. Shadow chaos controlled them away.

***

Honey held on tightly to Shadow's waist as he sped through the city streets, Rouge flew above them, so she could "flex her wings" as she put it. Honey's wings were folded tightly against each other. But despite that, a few feathers flew off into the wind. "Hey guard boy?" Shadow grunted. "Thanks back there." Rouge swooped lower.

"You sang pretty well Shadow, had you heard the songs before?"

"Once." Said Shadow. Honey raised her eyebrows. Once? He was pretty damn good! Shadow parked the motorcycle. Rouge landed and walked to the door, unlocking it.

"Welcome into my humble abode." Said Rouge, bowing outrageously low. Honey giggled and Shadow ignored the bow, walking straight in. It was anything but humble, it looked like every expensive comfort possible was jammed into it, without looking cluttered. There were a few display cases with jewels in them. "And no one can steal my jewels." Said Rouge, smirking. Honey suspected the white bat used lazer-proof glass. "Want any refreshments?"

"Sure." Said Honey, sitting down. Shadow lay down on one of the couches and closed his eyes. Rouge rolled hers then went into the kitchen. Honey flexed her wings as she stretched, then she settled back comfortably. They heard Rouge curse from the kitchen.

"So damn cold in here! But that's probably because I forgot to turn the heat on." Honey closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly. She started as arms wrapped around her, and a warm body pressed against hers. She opened her eyes and noticed Shadow sitting beside her, arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"Wh... what are you doing?" She asked, astonished. Shadow opened one eye halfway.

"You were cold." Was the simple reply she got. She shook her head, smiling slightly.

"You're puzzling, you know that guard boy?" But puzzling or not, he was warm, she snuggled closer.

"Well well well well..... a pair of lovebirds!" Both their heads snapped up, Rouge stood in the entrance to the kitchen, holding a tray. She was smirking. Honey blushed, but Shadow didn't change his position. "I'll go grab a blanket for Honey, shall I? It'll give you time alone while I do that." And the white bat put down the tray, then glided up the stairs. Honey moved into Shadow's lap, so the black hedgehog's chin was rested on her shoulder. She ate one of the cakes while Shadow's arms were still wrapped around her.

"Guar..... Shadow?" He grunted. "Do you... do you think I'm pretty?" She asked. Shadow's warm breath brushed against her neck and made her hair flutter as he sighed.

"Yes, you are pretty in your own way."

"What about the way everyone else who's beautiful is?" She asked, suddenly anxious to have his good opinion. He shifted his position slightly, then answered.

"You're beautiful too." Rouge had sneaked down upon them and suddenly yelled.

"MISTLETOE! You must kiss!" And sure enough, the white bat was holding mistletoe over their heads. Honey glared at the bat.

"It's not even Christmas!"

"True, but mistletoe is the same all year round. Now kiss!" Shadow and Honey moved away from each other, sitting at opposite ends of the couch. Rouge frowned. "You'll have to kiss at some point. You are obviously intoxicated by each other's presence." Despite this certainty, Rouge could not make them get closer to each other through the rest of the visit. They were going to sleep over because it was late, each of them had one of the couches to sleep on. Honey laid her head on a cushion and pulled a blanket over herself. Shadow laid his on top of her, then went over to "his" couch and lay down, with his arms behind his head, and his breathing slowed and became deep. Honey lay staring at him for awhile, then sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest, and hugged them. She had convinced herself she didn't like Shadow, and she had said to Nack that he would never be able to get far enough into her good books... but then... how had he? She looked at him with puzzlement, and fondness. She shook her head, she had resolved to not get attached to any boy ever, after Bean she'd been bitter. She stood quietly and floated over to the stairs, then up them. Shadow opened his eyes and looked at the stairs, then shrugged, smiling slightly. They were in Rouge's house, she'd be safe.

***

Honey shook the bat's shoulder. "Rouge?" The jewel thief opened her eyes, and smiled at Honey.

"Hey Honey, what's up?" Honey sat at the foot of Rouge's bed, hugging her knees.

"Have you ever had boy problems?" Rouge was instantly alert, she sat cross legged and faced Honey.

"So you like Shadow then?" Honey nodded uncertainly, blushing. Rouge smirked. "I knew it!" Honey frowned.

"I want help with boy problems, not gloating." Rouge laughed quietly.

"Sorry, anyhow, what's your problem with Shadow?"

"Well... I had promised myself to never like another boy after... you-know-what. And I'd told Nack that Shadow would never make it far enough into my good books for me to even consider liking him... and then I suddenly started liking him. What am I to do Rouge? He heard me saying that to Nack, and... well... I haven't exactly been nice to him." Rouge tapped a finger against her lips.

"I've got it!" She said, snapping her fingers.

"What?"

"Here's what you'll need to do Honey darling!" Said Rouge, leaning forward to whisper in Honey's ear.

**Okay I hope you liked that! ^_^ The Michael Jackson songs were a sort of tribute to MJ..... R.I.P. and all that. I've only started listening to his songs now...... :P Anyhow, R&R and tell me what you think! ^_^ And if you have ideas for the next chapter, please tell me, I always like hearing my reviewers ideas. :) **

**Disclaimer: CrazyNutSquirrel owns nothing, the songs are owned by Michael Jackson (R.I.P. MJ) and the characters are owned by SEGA.**


	3. Chapter 3: Love your charge

Shadow hardly ever yawned, but he was now in the kitchen. He kept on waking up through the night at various noises which he had not liked the sound of. Rouge and Honey on the other hand, had slept soundly. Shadow had ended up staying up until five thirty before falling asleep finally. They had all woken up at ten after eight. Rouge stretched and popped some toast into the toaster. Honey walked into the kitchen and paused for a moment, then got herself a glass of water.

They stood there in silence for awhile, Shadow staring out the kitchen window at the street, until Honey asked a question. "Shadow, have you ever been in love before?" Shadow's head whipped around, he stared at her.

"In love?"

"Yes Guard boy, in love. Or is the word foreign to you?" She said, annoyed. Shadow could tell she was annoyed from three things. First, her use of the nickname 'guard boy', second, the expression on her face, and last, the tone of her voice. So Shadow thought about her question.

"No, I don't believe I have ever been in love." He said finally. Honey looked up from her glass of water. Shadow noticed, with some surprise, that she had contact lenses on. "Why are you wearing contact lenses?" He asked. She jumped.

"I didn't think it was so noticeable..." She said, laughing nervously. Shadow just raised an eyebrow. "If you must know, I've been ridiculed for my eye colour so I got contact lenses to change it." Shadow remained silent, and Honey brought the conversation back to where it had originally been. "So... what do you think being in love is like?" She asked.

"Very complicated. What is your real eye colour?" Honey's jaw dropped. He wanted to see her real eye colour? He was nuts! She'd told him everyone else hated it and he still wanted to see!

"Good morning!" Said Rouge, walking into the kitchen. Shadow immediately started looking out the window again, and Honey finished her glass of water and put it in the sink. Rouge started grinning. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"No." They both said in unison.

"Riiiiight... well whatever, Honey darling we've got places to be! Let's get our show on the road." Then Rouge turned to Shadow. "If you follow us, that'll mean you probably like her." Said Rouge. Shadow growled.

"If I follow you, it will only be to make sure she's safe."

"'Cause you loooooove her!" Rouge started singing some song regarding love and Shadow stalked out of the kitchen. Rouge winked at Honey.

"You really know how to push his buttons!" Said the yellow cat, surprised.

"I sure do darlin', now let's get on that outing of ours before he figures out that we're only joking."

***

Sure, Shadow was only protecting her for the mission, but it was weird, he felt a strange sort of possessiveness too. Why? He had no idea. And then another muddled feeling. He decided he would do a brief bit of training with Omega, then go find them and follow them. The robot was busy shooting targets. "Omega." The head swiveled.

"Life form: Shadow detected." Shadow smirked.

"Nice to see you too." Without saying anything more, they started sparring. After awhile though, Omega spoke up.

"You are troubled." Shadow grunted. Omega blocked a spindash and shot at Shadow. "Is your latest mission successful so far?" He asked, Shadow grunted again. Omega took this one as a yes. "Then why are you troubled?" Shadow stopped attacking and sighed, sitting down.

"Omega, I'm having weird feelings about the girl I'm supposed to be guarding."

"Protectiveness? Or possessiveness?"

"Both. But I don't know about the others." Omega ran a quiet scan as they sat there in silence.

"You are in love with your charge." Shadow's eyebrows shot up and his cheeks went pink. "I am detecting a sudden increase in body heat in the areas commonly referred to as "cheeks". Are you alright Shadow?"

"Omega?"

"Yes?"

"Would you please not tell anyone about this conversation?"

"Of course not." Thank goodness for that. When Omega promised not to do something, he wouldn't do it. Shadow stood up.

"Thanks Omega."

"Shadow?" The black hedgehog had reached the door, but he paused and turned.

"What is it?"

"You know that if you are romantically attached to your charge, there will be complications." Shadow nodded. "Then be careful."

"You're being unusually protective of my well being."

"Please." Shadow nodded, it was rare to hear Omega say please.

"I'll be careful."

"Good luck Shadow. I shall resume training." And when the door closed, Omega was doing just that. But once Shadow was gone (Omega detected Shadow using chaos control) he stopped. "I must find Gamma." And then he went to find the older E-100 robot.

***

"Don't look now but I think a certain hedgehog is following us." Said Rouge, smiling at Honey.

"You think he thought you were serious?"

"Undoubtedly." Rouge was smiling cheerfully. "If he actually comes up to us and shows that he was following us, he can carry our shopping bags for us!" Honey laughed.

"Oh Rouge... do you always make the guys carry the shopping bags when they're around?"

"Of course! Being in the woods and having hardly any contact with anyone hasn't exactly shown you much of me or the other girls has it?" Honey shook her head. "I thought not. Oooh look! That pair of shoes would look totally cute on you!"

"I'd look like an idiot with them Rouge." Said Honey, after inspecting the black high heels that had bows on them.

"Oh come on, please?"

"No." Laughed Honey.

"Agent Rouge!" They turned and saw a couple of GUN soldiers in "civilian clothes". Of course, the thing that gave them away was the gloves. The Commander insisted that they almost always wear the gloves.

"Hello boys. What do you need?"

"Have you seen a yellow hedgehog with red eyes?"

"What, Super Sonic?"

"No no no, this one is a darker yellow. He's supposedly been robbing jewelry stores around here." Rouge looked offended.

"Robbing jewelry stores? How dare he! There's only one person who can do that, and that person is me." She rose into the air and looked around. "Follow me boys, I've spotted him." And she darted off with the soldiers, telling Honey to wait for her.

"Having fun with Rouge?" Whispered a voice in Honey's ear. The cat jumped.

"Guard boy!"

"Who else?" Shadow smirked.

"So... you followed us did you?"

"Yes." Said Shadow, shrugging.

"You like me then?" She asked. Shadow nodded, and Honey's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You aren't joking?" Shadow nodded again. Honey's eyes narrowed. "Look Guard boy, I've had my heart broken before, I don't need a repeat."

"I'm being honest with you Honey. And what do you mean....?" Honey gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Shadow blinked, surprised.

"I like you too Guard boy." As if by magic, the Commander appeared.

"Your mission is a success Shadow!"

"What do you mean?" Asked the black hedgehog.

"You have finally fallen in love with someone! Haw haw haw!" Shadow ignored the Commander's stupid way of laughing.

"So that's why you sent me on all those missions to guard girls." He said, his face completely devoid of emotion.

"Of course! Every soldier needs a little romance don't they?"

"I thought you didn't have any."

"Well of courses not, I'm the Commander! I'm not supposed to."

"Wrong, but whatever."

"I shall see you later Agent Shadow. Your new mission is stick by your girl." Shadow rolled his eyes while Honey giggled uncertainly. Rouge suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Well well well well..... what pair of little lovebirds do we have here?" She asked, smirking at them.

"Oh shut up Rouge." Said Shadow. Honey kissed his cheek.

"Don't be so tense Guard boy. She did help our relationship out in a way."

"Yup, and I also convinced the Commander that every GUN soldier needs a bit of romance." Rouge winked at them. "Why don't we go get something to eat? You two can go on your first date later." Honey went bright red, Shadow chuckled.

"You don't need to be embarrassed Honey."

"I know, but does Rouge _have_ to say it so loud?"

"No, but that's Rouge for you."

**Ha ha, this isn't the original way I wrote chapter three, but it works! ^_^ At least, I hope it does. Shadow might have been a bit too OCish, but I didn't intend to make him that way. Anyway, hope you liked it, I'll update as soon as the muse whacks me around the head with a piece of beef jerky. Don't ask why it uses beef jerky, I honestly can't tell you the answer.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to SEGA..... Blast it. If they belonged to Crazy, this pairing might actually be a real one. Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a game where you had to rescue Honey a couple of times from Eggman, or got to play Honey? I personally wish they hadn't scrapped her, she looked interesting!**

**R&R, I'll end this chapter to save you from Disclaimer's ranting. *whispers* I think Disclaimer has a cruuuuuuuush on Honey!**


End file.
